Cinderella is a popular story known around the world, but by many different names. In "The Fairy-Tale Facade: Cinderella's Anti-Grotesque Dream," Alexandra Robbins states, “Fairy tales have a way of persuading readers that the dreams and rewards, fantasies and fetes of the characters represent our own wishes, too” (102). This is one reason why Cinderella is so well known. However, each version of Cinderella from around the world is a comment on the culture of that time. In “Rhodopis and Her Little Gilded Sandals” recorded by Strabo, “Yeh-hsien” translated by Arthur Waley, “Cendrillon, or the Little Glass Slipper” by Charles Perrault, and “The Poor Turkey Girl” by Frank Cushing, there is an emphasis on oppression, and whether it is familial or cultural. In addition to emphasizing injustice, the stories also highlight the aid the afflicted received. This help is commonly thought of as the fairy godmother, per Disney’s popular film, but each culture uses a different element as Cinderella’s aid. Another common factor in each version of Cinderella is the importance of appearance and what it says to readers about how people react to another’s looks. It is a cultural expectation that women are to look beautiful, and if they are not, they are oppressed.

The Eagle Steals Rhodopis' Sandal

“Rhodopis and Her Little Gilded Sandals” is an Egyptian version of Cinderella and one of the first versions ever recorded. Unlike the three other variants, the oppression in “Rhodopis” is not explicitly stated. However, it can be assumed it is cultural because Rhodopis lives near the great pyramids, away from the village and other people. When Strabo writes, “[Rhodopis’] mouth was pure of evil speaking; her two hands pure of evil doing, and her forehead shone with the light of the Double Truth,” readers can assume she is oppressed in response to her goodness. They are unwillingly to accept someone so good and honest among them, so they shun her until she lives among the pyramids, away from oppression. One day she goes swimming in the Nile when an eagle takes one of her gilded slippers from the bank. The eagle is actually the one who comes to help Rhodopis because it delivers the slipper to the King of the village. The King proclaims that the woman whose foot fits the slipper would be crowned his queen. With the aid of a peasant, the King learns about a girl who lives among the pyramids. He seeks her out and discovers she is the owner of the slipper and, therefore, makes her queen. Thus, Rhodopis is no longer oppressed, and she does not oppress others as Queen; instead, she rules fairly and justly. In the first paragraph, Rhodopis is described as “beautiful as the dawn” emphasizing her beauty from the beginning (Strabo). Throughout Alexandra Robbins article, she refers to how the image of Cinderella appears to be more doll-like than human. It is giving young girls false ideas about women. If Rhodopis had not been beautiful, would the King still have married her? Upon seeing Rhodopis’ “rosy face, reflecting all the light of the sun” he proclaimed that she “is indeed the one” (Strabo). Rhodopis did not have to try on the slipper like the other women before the King decided the slipper belonged to her. Would he still have married her if it was not her slipper? Or were her looks enough to win the King’s heart?

Yeh Shen

Another Cinderella tale tracing back centuries is the Chinese “Yeh-hsien.” Yeh-hsien undergoes familial oppression when both her mother and father die, leaving her with her stepmother and stepsister. Her stepmother makes her fetch water everyday during which she befriends a fish that she brings to live in the pond at their house. The stepmother kills the fish and cooks it for dinner one day, but Yeh-hsien keeps the bones. These fish-bones aid her against her stepmother because Yeh-hsien prays to the fish-bones and they grant all her wishes. One night, she sneaks off to a ball and loses a slipper in her rush to leave. A man sells her slipper to the King of a nearby land who hunts down the slipper’s owner. Upon finding Yeh-hsien, he takes her and the fish-bones back to his kingdom. However, he becomes greedy and the fish-bones stop granting wishes. Therefore, even though Yeh-hsien was rescued from her stepmother and stepsister, she still faces oppression because her fish-bones are no longer able to help her. The first description of Yeh-hsien is a bit more humble than that of Rhodopis: “From childhood [she] was intelligent and good at making pottery on the wheel” (Waley 18). Readers get a sense that appearance is not as important in this version of Cinderella, but later, this is proven false. When Yeh-hsien begins praying to the fish-bones, she “was able to provide herself with gold, pearls, dress and food” (Waley 19). Waley chose the order of this list deliberately and put food (the one thing Yeh-hsien needs to survive) last in order to emphasize her want for material goods that enhance her appearance. In Alan Dundes, Cinderella, a Casebook, Ben Rubenstein questions “whether…the narcissistic gratification arising out of increased feelings of self-esteem from the severe reaction formations does not play an important part [in influencing readers]?” (224). Yeh-hsien puts up with the abuse her stepmother inflicts because she receives material goods to comfort her. Rather than trying to stand up to her stepmother, she accepts jewels and clothes as repayment for her misery.

Cendrillon

Many centuries later, Charles Perrault wrote the French “Cendrillon, or, the Little Glass Slipper,” one of the most popular versions of Cinderella. It is in this version that readers see the stereotypical fairy godmother, the pumpkin carriage, and the glass slipper. Cinderella’s mother has died, and she faces oppression from her stepmother, stepsisters, and even her father, who is absent the whole story. Her stepmother and stepsisters make her do all the cleaning everyday. The kingdom announces that there is to be a ball, and Cinderella wants to go, but her stepmother and stepsisters refuse her request. After they leave, her fairy godmother appears and transforms a pumpkin into a carriage and gives her a beautiful gown. She leaves one of her glass slippers in her rush to return home. The Prince, who was encapsulated with her at the ball, declares that they are to find the girl who the slipper belongs to and he will make her his wife. After searching, the court finds Cinderella. Cinderella no longer lives an afflicted life, and she does not oppress others. This can be seen when she invites her stepsisters to live in the castle, and marries them to noblemen. Early on Perrault writes, “despite everything Cinderella in her rags was still a hundred times prettier than her sisters for all their sumptuous clothes” (11). In this version, Cinderella does not need material goods to be beautiful, but many refuse to see past her rags. This is evident when she goes to two balls and her stepsisters do not recognize her because she is dressed beautifully. In Alan Dundes, Cinderella, a Casebook, Aarland Ussher writes, “Cinderella, the sought-for image is always there, anonymous” (199). This suggests that all women are striving to be as beautiful as the ideal Cinderella. Cinderella herself wanted what is now known as the Cinderella-image. She was unhappy in her rags, caring for her family. Therefore, she sought out her fairy godmother who gave her the image she wanted, followed by the life she wanted.

“The Poor Turkey Girl” is a Native American story that comes from the Zuñi Indians of New Mexico. It differs a lot from the typical Cinderella story, but the undertones reflect the main Cinderella plot. The poor turkey girl, who is not named in the story, is oppressed by her society. She lives on the outskirts of their town, and she herds flocks of turkeys for a living. One day while tending to the turkeys, she hears the leader announce the Dance of the Sacred Bird is to take place soon. She becomes upset because she wants to go to the dance, but knows she will not be allowed in due to her status among the people. The turkeys, which are not as they seem, promise to help her. She takes them back to their home and they enchant her dress to make her beautiful. Before she leaves for the sacred dance, the turkeys warn her not to forget about the generosity they showed her and that she should not stay too late. However, in the glamour of the dance, she does forget. She rushes back to the turkeys, but discovers they have left and her clothes have returned to their original state. She is going to remain oppressed forever, especially since she no longer has a job. “The Poor Turkey Girl” has the most demeaning description of the four Cinderella tales presented. Cushing writes “her person, on account of long neglect and ill-fare, shameful to look upon, though she herself was not ugly, but had a winning face and bright eyes” (80). While he states she is not ugly, he does not say explicitly say she is beautiful. When the turkeys transform her clothing, they also change her appearance. They remove all the dirt covering her skin to hide her downtrodden life from those she would encounter at the sacred dance. In Cinderella tales in general, “Cinderella sets the standard by which all of the other females in the tale measure their own appearance…the anti-grotesque becomes the charming archetype to which all females must aspire, despite the artificial fairy-magic means by which Cinderella rises to such status” (Robbins 108). When she enters the dance court, everyone is enchanted with her beauty and dress. However, at the end of the tale, when her clothes revert back to their original state, the town will return to neglecting her. As one can see, oppression and appearance are both important in all Cinderella tales. They become even more significant when one considers the idea that Cinderella is oppressed in response to her appearance. In The Guardian, Adam Phillips writes: “Living in this regime means that [Cinderella] never goes out, she only works and sleeps, and no one recognises how beautiful she is. It is very important that the fairy godmother doesn’t make Cinderella beautiful; her magic simply discloses how beautiful she is. The fabulous clothes she wears to the ball neither conceal nor disguise her: they show her as she really is.”When Cinderella is not dressed in a ball gown, people either ignore her or treat her badly. However, once her clothing is socially acceptable, she becomes the center of attention and all the women wish to be her. Unfortunately, this form of oppression can still be seen in today’s culture. Women are still expected to be beautiful, and when they do not meet this expectation, they are treated different from women who are considered attractive. The maltreatment that Cinderella receives during her “unattractive” stage takes a toll on her, even after those around her realize her beauty. In response to the new live-action Cinderella film, Sally Higginson writes in the Chicago Tribune, “At the end of the film, as Cinderella stands in her…wedding gown, King Charming tells her it’s time to have her portrait painted. Cinderella replies, ‘Oh I hate the way I look in portraits.’ …Standing as a bride, looking her best, she berates her beauty.” Cinderella has been told many times in the past that she is not beautiful. Even though society now acknowledges her beauty, she cannot see it herself and reverts back to a self-diminishing thought.Cinderella is appealing to many because of the idea of having all their wishes come true. However, there is more to Cinderella than evil stepmothers and glass slippers. Across cultures and time, every version emphasizes how people are oppressed and have to fight this injustice to change their lives. Whether Egyptian, Chinese, French, or Native American, the Cinderella tale comments on how women and stepchildren were treated during the times these stories were told. These tales also show the importance of appearance at these times, which arguably still exists and continues to face oppression today.